A Huffman High School English teacher is being questioned for instructing her ninth graders - as part of a Black History Month exercise - to see the R-rated Quentin Tarantino movie "Django Unchained."

The assignment is part of a scavenger hunt, and one of the items requires students to see the violent slave pic "Django Unchained," a "Roots"-goes-"Pulp Fiction" shoot-em-up about slavery and revenge.

As one parent - who asked that her name not be used for fear of retaliation against her child - put it, "I hardly see what my child can get from this movie other than how horrible white people were."

Hope English, who teaches the ninth-grade English class, declined comment today. Larry Contri, director of high school instruction, said Birmingham city schools "does not endorse students attending any R-rated movie as part of a class assignment."

Contri said he is having the requirement to attend the movie as part of the scavenger hunt removed from the list. Parents will be notified of the change, he said.

In the assignment, English says it is being given "in an effort to develop your understanding of the black history that surrounds you daily."

Other items on the assignment, which requires students compile their findings in a Power Point presentation or display board, include visiting the Civil Rights Museum, the 16th Street Baptist Church and Kelly Ingram Park.

The first item on the hunt? "Go see Django Unchained." The assignment required students bring proof that they saw the movie - a ticket stub and summary of the movie, including what "disturbing things" they learned about black history from the movie.

"I just want to know if this is in any way an appropriate assignment for students that aren't even old enough to see the movie?" said the parent. "This is not Red Tails, a movie based on factual events of the Tuskegee airmen. This is Quentin Tarantino's version of exploiting slavery's ugly history for entertainment purposes."

The assignment, which Contri said is optional, is due Feb. 15 and is worth 300 points toward students' grades. The requirement that students see "Django Unchained" was removed, he said, and a revised scavenger hunt list was sent home today.

The movie contains some disturbingly violent and gory scenes, including one in which a slave gets torn to shreds by dogs. The n-word also is reportedly used at least 110 times throughout the movie.

"This is an English teacher, not history," the parent said. "If she feels it's OK for children to see this movie as a historical basis on how slaves were treated, then I seriously question what else she is teaching my child."

Updated at 3:34 p.m. to include the teacher's name and new information from Larry Contri about the assignment.